{"id":2242,"date":"2019-04-12T07:24:46","date_gmt":"2019-04-12T07:24:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.tetra.net\/en\/en\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2019-04-12T07:24:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-12T07:24:47","slug":"starting-with-marine-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tetra.net\/en-en\/starting-with-marine-fish\/","title":{"rendered":"Starting With Marine Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Probably the most significant development to happen in the aquatics industry is the onward rise in popularity of marine fishkeeping. There are several factors that lie at the heart of this; improvements in marine aquarium life support technology, the availability of live rock, (see sidebar), an increasing number of marine species being captive bred and not least, a certain Disney film about a little clownfish…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Compared to freshwater species, marine fish\nare undoubtedly harder to keep. Their water quality requirements are exact and\neven slight deviations from the precise physical and chemical conditions found\nin the tropical seas will lead to the fish becoming very poorly. Many marine\ntanks contain delicate invertebrates such as soft corals, anemones, tubeworms,\nshrimps or starfish and these creatures are the most demanding aquatic\norganisms of all. Successfully keeping these in an aquarium depends on\nprovision of consistently perfect seawater quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is seawater?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n The oceans cover 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and contain 97 percent of the Earth’s water <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
So before we look at planning and\nestablishing your marine aquarium, we should first consider what makes seawater\nso unique and how we mimic these conditions in the aquarium for these demanding\nmarine species. Over 97% of global water is found in the sea and the oceans\ncover 71% of our planet, due to billions of years of land erosion, volcanic\neruptions and other destructive forces, a considerable reserve of dissolved\nminerals have built up in the sea. In fact, crudely speaking, if you where to\nboil 1 litre of seawater, you would be left with around 35 grams of mineral\nsalts. Thus to keep marine fishes, we must clearly add salts into freshwater to\nmimic the saline conditions of the fishes natural habitat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting the exact amount of salt into the water is utterly crucial, whilst fishes can tolerate a salinity (salt level), slightly lower than full strength seawater; (in fact this can be a useful tonic for poorly marine fishes), all invertebrates such as corals, shrimps etc are utterly intolerant of anything other than full strength seawater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So before water can be added to the marine tank, it must first have the correct amount of salt added. Then we need to test the salt level in the seawater to ensure we have put in the correct amount, regular testing of salinity in the aquarium is also crucial as pure water constantly evaporates which will concentrate salts left behind. The simplest way of testing salinity is to use a hydrometer, this measures the density (as specific gravity) of the seawater sample, which rises as more salts are added. Different hydrometers work in different ways and it is important to follow the manufacturer\u2019s instructions closely. There are numerous other methods of testing the salt level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marine Aquarium: Planning for success<\/h2>\n\n\n\nParacanthurus <\/em>– The Blue Tang These require a large space to thrive and are not recommended in a tank under 450lt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
When planning your new marine aquarium, one of the first decisions to make is the size of tank you are going to have. The old adage of the bigger the better is very true for marine fish systems. The greater the volume of water the more stable the water body is, and also you’ll be able to keep a higher biomass of lovely marine livestock. Available space and budget should be the restrictions on tank size, literally go for the largest tank you can afford or fit in the designated safe space in your home. There is an increasing popularity for so called ‘nano’ tanks, small aquaria of 50 litres or less. While these ‘bonsai-aquaria’ may seem an appealing, they are very demanding due to the inherent instability of such as small body of water. Nano tanks are best left to marine fish keepers with considerable experience and a penchant for miniaturisation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The keystone of most marine aquaria is the\nprotein skimmer, whilst filters, heaters, lighting etc will perform a function\nfamiliar to most who have kept freshwater species, the skimmer can only be found\nin seawater systems. The units passes billions of tiny bubbles up a column, down\nwhich seawater is circulated. The bubbles strip out dissolved organic wastes\nwhich collect in the frothing collection cup. Less dissolved muck in the water means\na less polluted tank \u2013 these units are utterly crucial on all beginners marine\ntanks. Only once an aquarist has had many years of experience will they\nconsider risking the benefits of not having a protein skimmer, debate rages\namong connoisseurs of the hobby on the impact of skimmers of plankton\npopulations in the tank; all would agree for the beginner a skimmer is a\nnon-negotiable essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What type of aquarium you have will also\ninfluence your choice of livestock for the tank. Fish only systems are the\nsimplest way to get started with some of the slightly more forgiving marine\nfish, however, many of the fish ideal for this sort of tank can grow very\nlarge, (thus requiring a huge tank), and many are obligate carnivores,\n(requiring efficient filtration). Most marine fishkeepers today want to keep a\n\u2018reef\u2019 tank a balanced ecosystem built around liverock (see sidebar), with\nnumerous mobile and sessile invertebrates and a small stock of carefully\nselected fish \u2013 chosen for their compatibility with the inverts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once you have selected your tank, planned\nyour livestock, read a good book, poured over countless websites and confusing\nforums and sought the advice of every expert who will lend you their ear, you\nare ready to get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Installing and establishing your marine\ntank:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Synchiropus splendidus<\/em> or Mandarin fish have very specific feeding habits, often only eating live amphipods and copepods and may not make the best fish for a beginner. Unlike many other fish they have a layer of slime instead of scales that protects them from disease and predators.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
When you have got your one box marine\naquarium home, or unloaded the countless boxes of separate equipment, the tank\nmust be set up dry. Follow manufacturer\u2019s instructions closely here, again the\none box solution offers the advantage of simplicity at this confusing stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the tank in place and the equipment\nall ready to go it\u2019s time to fill the tank with water. Tap water contains\nnitrates and numerous other trace chemicals that can cause chronic problems in\nreef tanks, so the majority of marine fishkeepers use water purified through a\nReverse Osmosis (RO) unit. RO water is available at many aquatic stores and\nsome have even begun selling seawater. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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